Winterfell's Great Hall

[House Dustin]

Mors answered with a deep belly laugh. "No calf ever made me laugh so, Lady Stark."

[The Smith]

Elaine's smile never wavered, "I have seen such beasts and been both amused, and concerned. I remember wrapping a blanket around the calf, and holding him steady." She looked at him, and sighed, "But I do know that men have no head for witnessing a live birth."

[House Dustin]

"It is a matter of nature," Mors replied. "Speaking of nature, if I may. What of these Ironborn? When it comes to questions of their nature, opinions seem settled. Hard salty isles breed hard salty men."

[The Smith]

"They are hard and salty, but many norterns are as cold as winter. I like to think that not all men are defined by their geography." Her smiled weakened slightly, for a moment.

[House Frey]

William Frey and his entourage enter the hall.

[House Dustin]

"That's very wise, my lady. One should try to keep an open mind." Mors grimaced a little. "It is a virtue I find I struggle with."

[The Smith]

"Do not worry my friend, I will keep the open mind, and you will warn me of all the percieved dangers, and hopefully we can not stray to far off the correct path." Elaine replied, "My father told me a story once of being lost in a fog shrouded night off the coast from White Harbor. He had two navigators ship, and one swore the direction home lay in one directiong, and the other swore the way home was in a completely different direction. He cursed them both, and then split the difference."

[House Dustin]

"Since he told you the story, it would appear that middle course worked out for him..."

[The Smith]

Elaine laughed, "No, it crashed on some rocks, and he would have died with his men but for a passing ship from Braavos that saved his life and his crews life. That was his last ship, after that he decided he would become a knight."

[House Dustin]

Mors felt the solemness pass and resumed his laughter. "Well, they say compromise results in no party's satisfaction."

[The Smith]

"I have found that saying to be more true then I would have liked." She sighed, and opened the door to his suite of rooms. "We have arrived, as you can see, fit for a king." She motioned to the large, and clean rooms.

[House Dustin]

Mors examined the rooms. "Thank you, Lady Stark. My daughters will be extremely grateful."

[The Smith]

Elaine curtsied, and offered him a smile, "You are a welcome guest, and I want you to know it. Do me a favor, and try to keep the Ironborn in line. I worry they will destroy my pottery."

[House Dustin]

Mors smiled back. "I will do my best."

[The Smith]

"If there is nothing else, I should check on my darling girl. She likes to slip away and watch the horses. She is obsessed." Elaine said with a warm smile.